Our House was robbed....

[itself]

Thursday, Laurie came home, garage door broken in, our home robbed. I was in Denver at a businees meeting, jumped a plane and did not get home until one o' clock in the morning. We were both hyserical.

We live way out in the desert on 2 acres of land in Arizona. We have neighbors that were home and did not hear a thing.

We installed a alarm system this weekend, but even that is not full proof, as we are so far out, the police cannot respond extremely quickly. I set up a neighborhood watch, but as people are in and out all day, this will only help so much. We have thought about getting a dog, but with our two cats this is a touchy propositon.

We feel so violated, and are so scared. We don't want these jerks to take our beautiful life away. Please share your stories, your ideas on anything else we can do to secure our place. The problem is that the robberies occur during the day, which by the way, is statistically when most robberies occur (from 6am to 6pm).

Lisa

[Pedal Wench]

An alarm is still a good thing -- with a really loud siren. If someone has a choice between which home to break into, they'll choose the one without an alarm.

[OakLeaf]

(((((itself)))))

No stories of my own, just hugs and sympathy and hope they didn't take anything irreplaceable.

[firenze11]

((((((itself))))))

I'm so sorry this happened to you, and thankfully you and Laurie are safe and were not home when it happened. I know how terrifying and violating it is and I wish there was something I could do to help you out. All I can really provide now is some experience and a tiny bit of advice.

Two of my houses were robbed so far. And both were robbed during the day, too. When I was in 5th grade my Dad and I came home from school and when he opened the door I could see our house had been torn apart. I vividly remember him running me back to the car, throwing me in, locking the doors, and telling me to hide until he came back.

We found out later that they had broken in through my room. We had a huge wrap-around deck so it was very easy for them. Two men, one woman. One had cut his/her hand and there was blood everywhere, apparently. My room was the least destroyed, there wasn't anything valuable in a little girl's room. One of the neighbors saw them walking up our driveway and thought they were coming to view our house because it was up for sale. (Which makes no logical sense considering you could not park on our road and our driveway was a really long hill.) They were drug addicts and needed money. Eventually the police caught them but everything was already sold. The worst was my Mom losing all her jewelry that had been passed down by family.

To this day I'm very uncomfortable sleeping on the ground floor and will avoid it as much as possible. We installed an alarm at all our houses after that and took measures to make it less thief-friendly. I think a big thing is just getting over that violation of privacy and learning to feel safe again.

This is getting long, but when I was in university it happened again to me and my friends. We were all gone over reading week and they broke in through my friend's window on the ground floor. They took all of his CDs and broke into all of our rooms, but nothing else. It was really weird. I remember being shaken up by it when we all came back from vacation and learned what happened. I went to bed that night and got this really strong feeling to look under my bed. Sure enough the huge kitchen knife they'd used to break all our doors open was under my bed. I was a little freaked out to say the least.

So the only advice I can really give is to, if you haven't already, have valuables (esp jewelry) appraised if needed, take pictures of the valuables in your house, and put the pics in the safe deposit box. Let the police do their work, sometimes they find who did it, sometimes they don't. Do some research to see what you can do to make your house safer, there's more to it than just alarms, I think. Maybe someone else will have advice on that. You're doing a great job at getting neighbors together to work on a neighborhood watch, too.

And maybe most importantly, give yourself some time to sort of grieve about what happened. And even though the experience might change you (like me being afraid of sleeping on the ground floor), know that you can and will feel safe again with time. And now you're being more proactive in that safety. Take care of yourself. I hope at the very least it helps know that others have gone through this, understand how you're feeling, and are here for you if you want to talk about it.

[roadie gal]

My sympathies. I know how you feel.

About 10 years ago I was working half of the month in Los Angeles and half up here in near Lake Tahoe. During the half of the month when I was in L.A. some people broke into my house and basically moved in. They slept in my bed, wore my clothes and ate my food. Luckily they used the toilet. They stole a few things (there weren't any valuables) and the only vandalism was that they broke a beer bottle all over the kitchen.

I must have just missed seeing them when I came back up. The house didn't feel like mine for quite a while. I washed everything in hot water, twice. I had a professional cleaning service come in. I wanted every trace of them erased.

The police did end up catching them. They were related to one of my neighbors. It's a long story. He ended up in jail for a while. She paid restitution to me for a few years at $20/month.

It was an awful, scary experience. I'm sorry you had to go through it.

[Flybye]

While I haven't been robbed in my home, we have had our cabin robbed. There wasn't much stolen, but what was stolen was very dear to us. My grandfather purchased two eight man rafts during World War II and brought them to the cabin when they built it. The rafts have been used by our family and friends every year since 1976. We have so many memories, so many pictures. Rafting is one of the things that we look forward to doing each summer. That was taken away from us. We can purchase new rafts, which we eventually will, but the memories and nostalgia of the old rafts won't be there. What amazes me is that the robbery happened almost two years ago and thinking about it still angers me.

I am so sorry for what happened to you. I too, live in a pretty rural area where most folks aren't compelled to lock their doors.

I have had things stolen before - a coat, a camera, etc. and I know how violated that feels. I can't imagine knowing that someone has entered my home and gone through my things. You must be so angry.

A dog would be a great early warning if someone was poking around. I have a weimaraner and she alerts us to people coming to our door before they even ring the bell. She also warns us if there is someone on the ditch bank behind our house. I added a dog to our home when we had only a cat and that just didn't work out. I ended up finding a new home for our cat because she simply wouldn't use the litter box and used my newly carpeted office instead - GRRRRR! It ended up being an expensive addition, the dog. I had to re- carpet the newly carpeted room. I don't, however, regret for a second getting the dog. She is a fantastic companion for me and for the kids and I love the security that she gives us. She sleeps in the basement with two of our kids and I know she will alert us to anything that we need to be concerned with. I also love having her around when my DH is gone for a night or two here and there. Cat's just don't make that great of guards!

Hope we all can help you through this. Once again, sorry, that just stinks.

[sundial]

Itself, I'm so sorry you were robbed. There's nothing worse than feeling violated and vulnerable. I hope your insurance company responds quickly and you are able to replace your valuables. If there's a good side to this it's that your wife was not harmed and you all are safe.

When I was growing up, we had 2 houses that were robbed. The first time someone stole dad's tools and saws. Later, after we had moved to a new remote woodsy area, and were in the process of building a house, someone broke in and stole a 2 ton air conditioner, a pistol, tools (again!) and some other valuables. Every room was ransacked except for mine--all I had was Barbies and dolls, lol! We had a tenacious dachshund that tried her darndest to protect but she was clocked with the family bible. We found her huddled under the bed.

Several years ago something weird occured. I happened to call in sick and was in the living room in my jammies watching t.v. with my 2 dogs. I heard a van pull up our long 50 yard driveway and pull in under our carport which sits on the backside of the house. It was an old brown beat-up van and I peeked out a window. My australian shepherd sounded the alarm and the van promptly drove off. My gsd was at the door, ready to take control of the intruder. Later I learned this van was spotted in the areas where houses were robbed and items were sold to support the meth head.

I feel very fortunate to share my house with 3 german shepherds and my australian shepherd. People in the area know we are the people with the "police attack dogs" and we have not had any robberies. Even with a meth house over one street we, and our neighbors, have been very fortunate. (The renters were finally kicked out and I think we no longer have the meth lab in the hood.)

I feel that having a large dog, such as a german shepherd, can be a deterrent but there are some things to take into consideration before bringing a large breed into the home. German shepherds, as other herding breeds, are very responsive and will naturally protect their family and home turf. However, some homeowner's insurance will not provide coverage if you own a specific breed of dog, ie rottweilers, dobermans, german shepherds, and pitt bulls. Or if they some provide coverage, it may be a much higher premium.
Also, check with the city/county ordinances to see if there is a breed specific ban. Our city has banned rottweilers and pitts because these dogs are used by meth people and they stake these dogs out around the perimeter of their house to deter police and inquiring minds. It would be very disappointing to get a nice large breed only to find out you'll have to move if you want to keep the dog.

Some large breeds shed like crazy so do your research. I live in a snow globe with the 3 german shedders and I HAVE to vacuum daily. Otherwise, visibility nearing 0, lol! Australian shepherds are a nice breed because they can be very crafty, intelligent and responsive and they won't back down should an uninvited guest make his appearance. And they are not likely to be included in the banned breed list. My aussie has put 2 characters in their place pretty quick. Thank goodness for her!

If you don't want a large dog at this time, consider placing a very large dog bowl in plain view as well as a dog leash. Some people have even recorded a deep, loud dog bark to play that's activated with motion. You can at least give the impression that Cujo lives there.

Good luck and I wish you the best. I'm sorry this happened to you but I'm grateful that it wasn't worse. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions about dogs.

Cathy

[Tuckervill]

That just sucks pond water. My husband's truck was broken into in Detroit last August and it's the worst feeling. Almost as bad, the sheer inconvenience of losing all the things you carried with you on vacation, and having to replace them and having to justify them to the insurance company. I've kept every receipt I've ever gotten since then.

I think a dog is a good idea, and then a fence and a gate around your property. Buy a spare car to leave in the driveway? Move it around every once in a while? I think my car in the driveway is a big deterrent.

I'm planning on putting a timer on the TV when we go on vacation, plus on a lamp upstairs. I think the extra power used is worth the peace of mind.

Hope you have good insurance!

Karen

[deedolce]

I HATE that feeling! I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It really sucks.

When I was a young girl, we were coming home from the airport, picking up my mother, and when we came out of our detached garage, we saw that the curtains had been drawn. That can only be done from the inside! We called the police, and while we were waiting outside, I saw this big white van drive down the street. Our street is a dead end, and I swear to this day, it was the robbers. They didn't have time to take much, thankfully.

Again, when my ex and I were living in Oakland. But there, just the week before, we had bought a puppy. A tiny, white, bull terrier. We had boarded him behind some sheet rock in a little room off the kitchen when we were gone, and apparently, even though he was the size of a piglet, he was able to scare the robber off, who had just taken my ex's road bike out of the closet! Pup had the worse snarly/growly/scary bark, even then!

Soon after I got my own house, I got a Bull Terrier of my own. The first one lived until he was 15, and mine is now 9. And I also have 2 cats! It took a long time, but now they all sit in front of the fire at night. True, the dog tries to play with the cats, who hiss and swat at his face, but it CAN work. Not that my dog would do anything at all, except maybe trip the robber trying to play or think he's going to be fed, or just run out the door and explore the neighborhood...

[Veronica]

We were burglarized last December. They took about $25,000 in property and a lot of personal paperwork. We put in an alarm right away. They came back two weeks later, while we were on vacation in Hawaii. Presumably to steal Thom's motorcycle, as they had all the paperwork on it and they were attempting to get into the garage. The alarm thwarted them. They were eventually caught, as my neighbor managed to catch their car on her security camera.

We now have several security cameras of our own and motion detectors. We caught on video another attempt in August. These guys were trying to cut the power to bypass the security (which would not have worked anyway!) We got their faces nicely on camera. They were also apprehended.

I wish all these creeps could be in jail for forever. Alas, that's not the way the system works. Our guys were meth addicts. I have no sympathy, they f@cked up their own lives. One was a chick, who had given birth a few weeks before. The baby was given to an adoption agency who had been paying for their housing until she gave birth. They were going to get evicted, so they decided to go on a burglary spree - something like twenty houses in our town.

The cameras have gone along way towards giving us peace of mind. They weren't cheap and installation was tedious since we did the work ourselves. We used a good chunk of the insurance money from the burglary to get the security cameras. I sleep a lot easier at night though.

I'm sorry this happened to you. I hope you can find a way to feel safe in your place again.

V.

[itself]

Thanks for all of your wonderful feedback. We have a spare truck parked in the driveway, as our realtor was kind enough to lend our hers. We would love to get a dog, but think that it would disrupt our cats, and we love our two girls.

I know time will heal. We love it out here, the mountains and peace and quiet are so special. We believe as they are doing a lot of building out here that it was probably subcontractors, and very likely that it was one that was actually in our house. They knew our schedule (how naive of us), as usually we would have them come to the house on Fridays when Laurie was off.

The issue will be helped by the fact that Laurie will be working out of the house very soon. But still, we like to go on vacation frequently and thus we are not sure what we are going to do. You know, I don't want to create a "Fort Knox" here. Sure gates and fences will help, and can be done tastefully not to disturb the views and such. But still, it is just so hard.

Thanks taking the time to share and give advice. We so appreciate it...

Lisa & Laurie

[firenze11]

Lisa, have you thought about getting someone to house-sit while you are gone? We have to because we have a big dog who is a very needy girl, but it is also helpful knowing someone is watching your house. Even if it was someone to just come in and check up on everything every once and awhile. We do it for our neighbors now. If they are gone during the winter we drive in and out of their driveway a few times to make tracks in the snow so it looks like someone is there a lot.

Also, putting lights and the tv on timers is a good idea, too. It makes it look like someone is there. I don't think you'll have to go the Fort Knox route to make it feel safe again.

And I'm so jealous of you living in Arizona. I was born in NM and I miss the southwest so much. What a beautiful beautiful area that is.

[sundial]

But still, we like to go on vacation frequently and thus we are not sure what we are going to do.

You might want to consider a house sitter. That way someone is home to watch things and take care of your kitties. Maybe a son or daughter of a co-worker?

We would love to get a dog, but think that it would disrupt our cats, and we love our two girls.

You can socialize dogs with cats so that they can respect kitties and not chase them. The trick is to start early. One of my shepherds runs away from kitties. The others ignore them.

[Zen]

your house was burglarized.

Sundial is right about dogs and cats. Look for a dog through local rescue groups and explain about the cats. if the dog really can't get along with the cats they should let you bring the dog back and try another.

An alarm will not deter a criminal in your situation, they can get in and out before anyone arrives. The right dog will make them think twice about entering.

[sundial]

Zen, glad you posted about the rescue. I was just about to suggest that. Dogs that are in rescue will have a foster mom or dad who can tell you exactly what the temperament is like (esp. in adult dogs), whether it gets along with other dogs or cats, children, birds, etc. I have a foster boy now that has a hang-up with other male dogs but loves females and people of all ages and sizes.